Hi all
here is a report from my recent family holiday to the Red Centre, with a bit
of birding thrown in...First up, many thanks to those who responded to my
RFI from a while back - the 'gen was much appreciated, even if I did not
always get to use it to the best effect (see below...). We travelled Alice
Springs (1 night) - West MacDonnells (3) - East MacDonnells (1) - Alice
Springs (1) - Kings Canyon (1) - Yulara (3), using a campervan whilst around
Alice and hired a car staying in "budget" accommodation at the Kings Canyon
and Yulara resorts. My first observation, campervans are alright up to a
point - but it does make it tricky for the sole birder in the party to sneak
out for an hour in the early morning or
late afternoon without taking the rest of the party with him! (And of
course some of the place we birders like to visit are not on the top of
other peoples' "must visit" lists!)
All in all, it was a pretty good trip. My target list comprised some new
species for me and others I saw in 1991 (when I was still a green birder)
and wanted to get a better look at. Conditions were pretty good as there
had been some rain around (although at lot less at Yulara than at the other
sites apparently), except it was often quite breezy, which constrains
searches for small birds with high pitched calls. Throughout the trip,
there were lots of the regular desert birds, such as Spiny Cheeked, Singing,
White Plumed and Grey Headed Honeyeaters, Rufous Whistlers, Galahs,
Ringnecks, Crested Pigeon and plenty of Brown Falcon, Kestrel, Whistling and
Black Kite and Wedge Tailed Eagles. There were Mistletoebirds at pretty
much every site and lots of Weebill around too.
Landing at Alice Springs, the first afternoon was spent familiarising
ourselves with the truck, provisioning and settling in, although I was
spotting the "easier" locals, such as Black faced Woodswallow and the
residents of the MacDonnell Range CP, including Western Ringneck and a gang
of Grey Crowned Babblers. We spent the next morning at the Alice Springs
Desert Park - which I would highly recommend for its great displays of
desert birds and animals, but the park hosts plenty of wild ones too -
including a very aggressive Wedge Tailed Eagle that forced the cancellation
of the morning bird show after the Barn Owl part - he had already dive
bombed a passing (wild) Black Kite and the handlers decided that their
charges were too valuable to risk. Wandering around the park, I picked up
Splendid Wren (beautiful male), Peaceful & Diamond Dove, Southern Whiteface,
Grey Crowned and White Browed Babbler, and the first of many budgies and had
my first "thornbill test" - in this case an Inland.
We then headed west to the Glen Helen resort. En route near the junction of
Larapinta and Namatjira Drives, I stopped to look at a very heavily built
falcon, but as I drew up it flew away from me, so I only got a tail on
profile, looking into the sun. The size and heavy wing beat made me think
it was possibly a Grey Falcon, but I'll never know on that one...A
fortuitous stop to stretch legs and get some air somewhere near the
Serpentine Gorge turn off gave up the one and only Bee-eater of the trip (I
thought they were supposed to be away for the winter?) and a White Winged
Triller.
We arrived at the resort about 5, and enjoyed the big group of budgies
settling down for the evening as we arrived. They were being harassed by a
Hobby and a Sparrowhawk - the latter then had a go at a Night Heron as well.
The next day we spent walking to look at Glen Helen gorge, and exploring the
area to the west of the gorge, and in the afternoon just messing about on
the bed of the Finke River. The morning walk took us into a rocky/spinifex
area, but there was not much about, and then back across flatter country to
the campground. On this area, there were lots of Diamond Doves, Variegated
and Splendid wrens and I saw 2 Bourkes parrots fly past - I certainly saw
them well enough to know that they were not doves but I couldn't track them
down again. In a mostly dry creek bed were lots of Zebra and Painted
Finches (a bird I had only ever seen fleetingly before) drinking from
residual pools, so I got some great views. The main gorge itself had enough
water so that I couldn't get round the edge to look at the wetlands, but I
could see Darter, White Faced Heron, Swamphen, Coot, Moorhen, Grey Teal,
Black Duck and Reed Warblers - with Zebra & Painted Finch and Budgies coming
to drink from the margins. After an afternoon messing about on the dry bed
of the Finke River (which produced 4 Red tailed Black Cockatoos), I managed
a late afternoon/early evening walk through a spinifex covered slope
opposite the resort's entrance road, where I picked up 2 Slaty Backed
Thornbills (new) and a Spinifexbird (1991 resighting), as well plenty of
Diamond Doves, a cracking male Blue & White Wren and lots of budgies.
On the Friday we drove to Ormiston, where I was allowed a brief period in a
recommended patch of good spinifex trying to find Rufous Crowned Emu Wren -
it was a bit blowy, so any calls were going to be lost. After about 10
minutes (nowhere near long enough in my book to make the most of the good
info I had) I was pressed to move on to do some real walking in the Ormiston
Gorge (spinifex plains not hitting the aforementioned "must see" list for
other travellers!). We walked into the gorge via the Ghost Gum walk, and
then back along the gorge. There was a Peregrine circling high up on the
cliffs and Painted Finch in the gorge. Around the campground were Hooded
Robin, 3 Western Bowerbirds, Grey Crowned Babbler, lots of Wrens, Weebill
and Zebra Finch.
At Ellery Creek Big Hole there was a White Necked Heron and 6 Hardhead and
at the Ochre Pits I saw a pair of Mulga Parrots and heard a Crested
Bellbird - could I find it? Ha!
The following day, we traversed back from the West to the East MacDonnells
via Alice Springs (for provisions and a trip to see the Ghan for my railway
mad son - I have to give a bit to get my birding opportunities, despite
being the tour director!). We drove past Emily Gap (where there was a
Peregrine on the cliffs) and ended up at Ross River, where there were Rufous
Songlarks singing loudly and a Hobby and tons more budgies, and a solitary
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo - the only one of the trip. Sitting out by our
campfire, I heard an Owlet Nightjar and very early the next morning a
Boobook called for 10-15 minutes (it was -3C, so I wasn't going looking for
it!)
The next day we walked in Trephina Gorge, where I got a very fleeting
glimpse of a Dusky Grasswren's tail as it shot into a gap in the rocks. As
we dropped down off the rocks into the gorge I saw a Grey Fronted
Honeyeater. The Zebra and Painted Finches drinking at the waterhole were
targets for a Sparrowhawk, but it was less interested in the 2 Australasian
Grebe on the waterhole. We passed a top spot about 1/2 way in along the
access road that had Rufous Songlark, Diamond and Peaceful Doves, Hooded
Robin, Striated Pardalote, a passing flock of Cockatiel, a Common Bronzewing
and two Mulga parrots. On the way out (just as we reached the main road) a
treecreeper shot across the road showing its buff wing flashes as it
landed - I presume it was a White Browed, based on the range, but by the
time I'd stopped and reversed, I couldn't find it again.
Between the Trephina Gorge and Corroborree Rock turn offs were 6 or 7 White
Backed Swallows - the only ones I saw, plus 2 Sacred Kingfishers and several
Red Backed Kingfisher. The former were both seen front on, so the orangey
breast was easy to pick.
Swapping the van for the hire car, we set off south (the long way) to Kings
Canyon. Plenty of raptors over the road, including a couple of Black
Breasted Buzzards just south of Stuarts Well. Not far from Mt Ebeneezer, I
saw 2 Ground Cuckoo Shrike cross the road - the only ones of the trip - a
better sighting than my previous effort as I was much closer, but I still
haven't managed one on the ground. We stopped for lunch at a rest area not
long after Mt Ebeneezer and I walked up into the dunes and saw Yellow Rumped
Thornbill, Red Backed Kingfisher, Chiming Wedgebill, and 4 Red tailed Black
Cockatoo flying over. There were some parties of Crimson Chats on the
roadside as we drove towards Kings Canyon and an impromptu comfort stop in
the middle of nowhere (don't know exactly where on that road I'm afraid
apart from about 100km from the resort), there was a single Orange Chat.
At Kings Canyon, I got much better views of a Dusky Grasswren at the start
of the Creek walk as well as my first Red Capped Robin (a female) of the
trip, Little Woodswallow cruising at cliff top height and Grey Shrike Thrush
with a big begging baby. The following morning, we did the resort walk,
which produced a Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, Redthroat, Slaty backed and
Chestnut Rumped Thornbill, a cracking male Red Capped Robin and 3 Spinifex
Pigeon drinking from a puddle on the road. Near the resort's helipad I saw
3 Pallid Cuckoo sitting in a tree until a crow came and made them move on.
Around Yulara/Uluru, it was much drier - apparently they'd had much less
rain than other places - but we got great views of a calling Crested
Bellbird on one of our circumnavigations of the rock. The walk through the
mulga to the cultural centre produced a Western Gerygone, Slaty Backed and
Inland Thornbill, Red Capped Robin, Rufous Whistler, Bellbird and a Chiming
Wedgebill calling.
One morning I got up a visited a recommended area near the works area of the
resort, where I saw Banded Whiteface (new), heaps of Crimson and 2 Orange
Chats, Hooded Robin, Crested Bellbird, Pipits and hordes of Zebra Finch.
The water plant had 2 each of Grey Teal, Australasian Grebe and Black
Fronted Dotterel and a solitary Welcome Swallow.
Our visit to the sunset viewing area one evening produced the only Pink
Cockatoos of the trip (they nearly ended up in my radiator which was not the
desired way to spot them!). I cruised the airport road twice in the evening
looking for Spotted Nightjars (a recommended activity), but no luck either
time.
All up, I saw just over 100 species, including 2 lifers and I "cleaned up"
earlier sightings for quite a few species that I wanted to see better from
my 1991 visit. But, as always, one can't see everything and I missed some
species because I reckon the rain had been too long ago or not enough and
the emu bush wasn't flowering (so no Pied and Black Honeyeaters?) and I
certainly I didn't spend enough time in good spinifex, so I'm definitely
saving Rufous Crowned Emu Wren for next time!
Cheers
Tom Wilson
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